19 Bridges with "prestressing steel at risk of stress corrosion"

In Saxony, 19 bridges under the responsibility of the Free State are threatened by damage similar to the partially collapsed Carola Bridge in Dresden. They are now undergoing an intensive investigation, said Transport Minister Martin Dulig (SPD) after the presentation of an interim report on the condition of the bridges in the Free State. "But I also want to make it clear: These 19 bridges are not automatically considered to be at risk of collapse," emphasized Dulig.

The inspections previously required by the regulations had not looked inside the structures; now, for the first time, experts would be examining the condition of the steel inside. The first result of these inspections was the closure of the Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau.

Nine bridges with high priority

Nine of the bridges on the list are reportedly being given higher priority. These are the Agra Bridge in Leipzig, three bridges in Bad Schandau as well as bridges on federal road 169 over the Gärtitzer Bach, on federal road 156 near Uhyst, on state road 46 over the Pleiße near Markkleeberg, on state road 127 and on federal road 101 near Großenhain.

As with the Carola Bridge, which partially collapsed on the night of September 11, all 19 bridges are so-called prestressed concrete bridges from the 1960s to 1980s. They contain "prestressing steel at risk of stress corrosion cracking", which can suddenly fail under certain conditions, as Dulig explained. "These are bridges that were built in the GDR and are now causing us major problems." However, this is not a Saxon or East German phenomenon, said Dulig. "Even if prestressed concrete has a different name in the West, the construction method has been used everywhere."